Explosive engine



' H. E. SHEPARD.

EXPLOSIVE ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED MAR 3, NHL

1,427,555. I PatentedAug.-29, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

I v INVENTOR BY 60 AATTORNEYS' H. E. SHEPARD.

EXPLOSIVE ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED .MAR. 3. 192].

1,427,555. Patented Aug. 29, 1922.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR .41 ATTORNEYS H. E. SHEPARD. EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

AEPIIICATI'ON FILED MAR. 3, I921.

1,427,555. Patented Aug. 1922! 3 SHEETS- H [Zia L ATTORNEYS UNITEDSTATES ATE rem.

HOMER E. SHEPARD, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOE, BY DIRECT AND TEESNEASSIGNMENTS, T0 DANIEL B. .SUTER, OF ROCHESTER, NET/V YORK.

EXPLOSIVE ENGINE.

Application filed March 3, 1921.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, HOMER E. SHEPARD, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in ExplosiveEngines, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to explosive engines and more particularlyto the connection between the pistons and the crank shaft, thisinvention being an improvement on the construction shown in myapplication for a patent filed November 1, 1920, Serial No. 420,899. Anobject of this invention is .to provide :a construction by which theresults secured in the before mentioned application may be obtainedthrough the cmp'loyment of a crank shaft formed in a unitarystructurerather than in sections, as in my before mentioned application.

Tothis and other ends the invention consists of certain parts andcombinations of parts,.all of which will be hereinafter described, thenovel features being pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is a fragmentary view partially in section showing two pitman orpiston rods connected to the crank shaft;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2, Fig. 1 through one of thecylinders showing the manner in which a piston or pitman rod-connectswith the crank shaft;

Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views at right angles to each other of thebearing piece which forms the bearing for the rock shaft and the rotarymember;

Fig. 5 is a View of-the upper bearing member forthe rock shaft;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional View on the line 6-6, Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 ,isa-detail View of one of the parts of the rotary member;

Fig. 8 is a side View of the part shown in Fig. 7 a

Fig. 9 is a side view of another oneof the parts forming the rotarymember;

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary section on the line 1010, Fig. 1, through therotary member; and r Fig. 11 is a detail view of the bearing blockillustrated in Fig. 10.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, 1 indicates a cylinder inwhich oper- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29., 1922..

Serial no. 449,522.

ates a piston 52, a crank casing 3 being provided at the lower part ofthe cylinder for containing the crank shaft and the connections betweenthe latter and the different pistons of the engine. Within the crankcasing 3 are arranged shelves or ledges 5 which support the spacedbearing pieces 6,

these bearing pieces being secured by bolts 7 to the shelves 5.Furthermore, the bearing pieces are each provided with a trans versesegmental groove 8 in which the bearing portion 1 of the crank shaft 4turns, a removable bearing piece 9 through bolts 10 securing the crankshaft to the bearing pieces 6. It will be noted that the crank shaftis aunitary structure, that is, its crank portions 4; are rigid with thebearing portionse The crank shaft has its crank portions 45* operatingbetween the bearing plates 6 and a fly wheel 4 is arranged thereon sothat a uniform movement of the crank shaft is obtained.

The pistons 2, in this instance, are each connected by pitmen or pistonrods 11 with rotary members 16 which turn about an axis parallel with,but eccentric to the turning axis of the crank shaft, the pitmen eachhaving, in this instance, a pivotal connection as at 12 with its pistonand also being mounted to turn on a rotary member about an axis which iseccentric to the axis of turning of such rotary member.

In this instance, each rotary member embodies a disk or bearing block 13which is surrounded by a split ring 14 rigid with one of the pitmen 11,anti-friction bearings 15 preferably in the form of rollers, beinginterposed between the split bearing ring and the bearing disk or memberl3. The disk or bearing block 13 is held between two substantially diskshaped portions 16 by bolts 17, the disk shaped portions projectingbeyond the bearing portion 13 to provide flanges operating on oppositesides of the split ring 1e. Each disk portion 16 is preferably mountedon one section 18 of a split ring, the other half 19 of said ring beingsecured to the half 18 by bolts 20. This split ring l819, which with thedisk 16 and the bearing 13 form, in this instance, a rotary member,turns about an axis which is out of line with or eccentric to the axisof turning of the crank shaft 4.. In this instance, the two split ringsof each rotary member turn on-anti-friction rollers 21 upon a pair ofannularbearing members 21 which surround the crank shaft and aresituated on opposite sides of a crank portion 4* of the crank shaft.Each bearing, in this instance, is formed integrally witha plate 6, thebearings 21 of each pair being on two differentbut proximate plates 6.

The connection between each rotary member and a crank portion on thecrank shaft is established, in this instance, by providing the bearingblock 13 with a transversely extending guideway 22 on which operates aslide block 23. This slide block has a bearing 24: in which rocks thecrank portion if of the crank shaft.

' In the operation of the engine, each piston 2 on its out stroke exertsits force on the crank shaft a at a time when the crank portio P issituated nearest the inner end of the guideway 22, so that the rotarymember increases the effective length of the crank portion, whereby isobtained a greater leverage and greater force acting upon the crankshaft on the out stroke of the piston. On the in stroke of the piston,the block 23 moves toward the outer end of the guideway 22 and in thisway the force required for moving the piston inwardly is reduced and dueto the fact that the crank portion of the shaft acts on the rotarymember at a point at a greater distance from the center of the rotarymember, thus reducing the leverage on them stroke. It therefore followsthat a greater amount of power canbe obtained from the engine. Thisresult, which forms the basis of my pending application herebeforementioned, is accomplished in this invention by the employment of asingle crank shaft. The construction for securing this result is strongand durable and is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

What I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An explosive engine comprising a cylinder, a piston, a piston rod, acrank shaft, and a rotary member mounted to turn about an axis parallelwith but out of alinement with the axis of turning of the crank shaft,said rotary member having the piston rod turning thereon about an axisout of alinement with the axis of turning of said rotary member and saidrotary member also having a sliding connection with the crank shaft at apoint out of alinement with the axis of turning of said crank shaft.

2. An explosive engine comprising a cylinder, a piston operating in thecylinder, a

crank shaft formed in a unitary structure,

two bearings arranged eccentrically with. relation to the axis of thecrank shaft on opposite sides of each crank portion of the crank shaft,rotary members, each turning on two of said bearings about axes parallelwith but out of line with the axis of turning of the crank shaft, eachrotary member being connected to one of the pistons, and being connectedalso with the adjacent crank portion of the crank shaft, so that agreater leverage action on the crank shaft is obtained on the out strokeof the piston than on the in stroke.

3. An explosive engine comprising a cylinder, a piston operatingtherein, a crank shaft having a crank portion, two bearings arrangedeccentrically with relation to the axis of the crank shaft on oppositesides of such crank portion of the crank shaft, and a rotary membermounted to turn on both bearin s about an axis parallel with but out ofalignment with the axis of turning of the crank shaft, said rotarymember acting as a crank pin and having the piston rod turning thereon,and having a sliding connection with the crank portion of the crankshaft, so that a greater leverage action on the crank shaft is obtainedon the out stroke of the piston than on the in stroke.

at. An explosive engine comprising a cylinder, a piston operatingtherein, a crank shaft having a crank portion, a pair of bearings forthe crank portion having the members thereof arranged eccentrically withreference to the axis of the crank shaft on opposite sides of such crankportion, a rotary member mounted to turn on both bearings about an axisparallel with but out of alignment with the axis of turning of the crankshaft, said rotary member acting as a crank pin and having a piston rodmounted to turn thereon, and being provided with a guideway, and a blockmovable On said guideway and having the crank portion mounted to rocktherein. 5. An explosive engine comprising a plurality of cylinders,pistons operating therein, piston rods pivotally connected to thecylinders, a crank shaft formed in a unitary structure, beafingssurrounding said crank shaft and arranged eccentrically with referenceto the axis of the crank shaft in pairs on opposite sides of the crankportions of said shaft, rotary members, each mounted to turn on a pairof said bearings about axes parallel with but out of alignment' with theaxis of turning of the crank shaft, the rotary members acting as a crankpin and having the piston rods mounted to turn thereon between themembers of its pair of bearings, andalso having sliding connection withone of the crank portions of the crank shaft at a point eccentric to theaxis of turning of the rotary member so that a greater leverage actionon the crank shaft is obtained on the out stroke of a piston than on thein stroke.

6. An explosive engine comprising a plurality of cylinders, pistonsoperating therein, piston rods pivotally connected to the pistons, aplurality of spaced bearing plates,

a unitary crank shaft mounted to turn on said plates and having crankportions operating between the plates, substantially ring shapedbearings mounted on the plates in pairs about the crank shaft With themembers of each pair arranged on opposite sides of a crank portion,rotary members, each mounted to turn upon a pair of bearings about anaxis parallel With but out of align ment With the axis of turning of thecrank shaft, each of said rotary members acting as a crank pin andhaving one of the pitmen rods turning thereon about an axis eccentric tothe axis of turning of the rotary member, the plane of operation of thepitman rod being between the two bearings of the rotary member, and ablock mounted to slide upon each rotary member and having one of thecrank portions of the crank shaft mounted to rock therein.

7. In an explosive engine, the combination with a plurality ofcylinders, pistons operating therein, piston rods pivotally con nectedto the pistons, a crank shaft formed in a unitary structure, andbearings surrounding said crank shaft and arranged in pairs, the membersof each of Which are situated on opposite sides of one of the crankportions, of rotary members, each embodying two split rings turning uponthe two members of a pair oi bearings, tWo substantially disk shapedplates carried by said split rings, and a bearing block arranged betweensaid disk shaped plates and formed with a guideway, the piston rodsbeing mounted to turn on the bearing block, and slides each mounted tooperate in the guide- Way of a bearing block and having one of the crankportions of the crank shaft mounted to rock therein.

HOMER n. SHEPARD.

